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DELIVERED IN 

THE FIRST BAPTIST MEETING-HOUSE, 
IN PROVIDEI^CE, 

AT THE CELEBRATION, 

FEBRUARY 23, A. D. 1824, 
IN COMMEMORATION 

OF THE 

AND IN AID OF THE 

CAVS& OF THB GHEEKS, 



By SOLOMON DROWN, M. D. 

Professor of Materia Medica and Botany in £rown University, 



BROWS & DAHrPOHTH, PBINTEftS. 

1824* 



ESI2 

.63 
J7<? 



Providence^ February 25, A, D. 1824. 
SoLOMOx Drown, M. D. 

SIR, 
The Standings Committee of the Greek Fund, through us, present 
you their thanks for the elegant and appropriate Oration, delivered 
this day, before the citizens of this town, and solicit a copy for the 
press. 

We are, very respectfully, 

Your most obedient servants, 
JOHN PITMAN, 
ALBERT G. GREENE, 

For the Committee, 



Providence^ Februitry 23, 1624. 
Gesttucmest, 
I feel much gratified by the polite manner in which you ask a 
copy for the press of the Address this day dehvered. Since acced- 
ing to the wishes of the Committee to prepare something on the 
occasion, my avocations have been so much greater than anticipated, 
that I could not produce any thing worthy the public eye. If, how- 
ever, I now comply with your request, I must beg you to accept the 
attempt, as a small, imperfect tribute to ihe cause, in which yoa 
have so honourably and indefatigably been engaged, and \vilh it, the 
assurances of my cordial esteem. 

SOLOMON DROWN, 
Jifessrs. J. Pitman aiid A. G. Greene, 

for the Committee of the Greek Fund, 



OIBiiSacDl^c. 



Novel and important is the occasion of our as- 
sembling, and great the sympathy, so generally and 
generously expressed for the much injured people^, 
whose cause we now espouse. This, too, is an an- 
niversary of the birth of the illustrious Father of 
American Liberty : and may we not presume, that 
his benignant spirit will regard, with approbation, 
the doings of this day. It is in compliance with 
the request of the Committee of the Citizens of Provi- 
dence, associated in aidance of the Greeks, that I 
now appear here — fully sensible how difficult, and 
almost impossible it is to offer any thing new, or 
worthy your acceptance, on a subject which has call- 
ed forth the best talents of the first characters of our 
country. But, relying on your candour, an effort 
will be made ; which, should it in the smallest de- 
gree tend to promote so glorious a cause, would af- 
ford a solace to the evening of my days. 

Greece, the most celebrated country of antiquity', 
is of inconsiderable extent ; but its climate is highly 
propitious ; the summer heat and winter cold being 
preserved, by the surrounding seas, in an equable 
state of temperature. Some of its mountains contaio 



^ 



valuable metals ; others are composed of the finest 
marble. Its central plains, and beautiful islands, 
produce corn, oil, and wine ; its vallies afford the 
richest pasturage ; and its long windingcoast abounds 
with excellent harbours. It has been called the gar- 
den of the Levant. 

He that has sailM upon that dark blue sea. 
Has view'dj at times, I ween a full fair sight, 

Byron's Childe Harold, 

This interesting portion of Europe, which has 
borne so conspicuous a part in the annals of the 
world — and has so long lain dormant and unnoticed 
— has lately again begun to attract the attention of 
mankind. In contemplating the affairs of this won- 
derful people, from the earliest ages, a vast theatre 
opens to our view, so crowded with illustrious men, 
and illustrious deeds, that it is difficult to know where 
to begin, or how to proceed in their delineation. Of 
this, however, we are sure — that were we to attempt 
even a short narration of the contending powers — 
Greece and Turkey — of the oppressors and oppress- 
ed — the shades of the evening would arrest the half- 
told task. A brief sketch, however, of prominent 
subjects, may tend to enhance our estimation of 
Grecian character. 

Homer, a name synonymous with genius and po- 
etry, first bursts upon our notice ; whose poem 
Phoabus challenged for his own, says Milton. He, 
according to Blair, flourished about nine hundred 
years before the Christian era. In his celebrated 
works, the Iliad and Odyssey, he has displayed 



the most consummate knowledge of human na= 
ture, and astonished the world by the sub- 
limity, the fire, the sweetness, and elegance of 
his poetry. Modern travellers have been surprised 
to behold the different scenes described three thou- 
sand years before, still existing in the same unvari- 
ed form ; and the navigator, who steers his course 
along the jEgean sea, finds all the promontories and 
rocks which appeared to Nestor and Menelaus, 
when they returned victorious from the Trojan war. 
Nor is it one of his least beauties — the sometimes 
adapting the sound of a line, to the sense or meaning 
of the thing described. The aged priest of Apollo, 
— refused the restoration of his captive daughter, is 
represented proceeding silent along the beach of the 
boisterous deep. In Homer's wondrous verse we 
hear the roaring billow dashing on the shore, and its 
subsequent seething along the sands. 

£e d* acheon para thina poluphloisboio thalasses. 

In the combat between Menelaus and Paris, we 
hear the snapping disruption of the weapon. 

Trichtha te ki* tetrachtha diatruphen echpese cheiros. 

But why single out an instance or two from a work 
abounding with specimens of inimitable beauty and 
grandeur. Immortal bard ! — tliy fame is destined to 
endure till mankind quit the globe. 

Non imber edax, non Aquilo impotens 

Possit diruere, aut innumerabilis 

Annorum seres, et fuga temporem. Hor. 

"Years after years an everlasting train, 
Shall ne'er destroy the glory of thy name," % 



6 

Among heroes, Fpajninondas occupies an elevated 
rank. Although his descent was honourable, his 
patrimony was small, and was exhausted in procur- 
ing the means of every kind of instruction. — Having 
expended to the most important and useful purposes 
the slender pittance which he derived from his fami- 
ly, he exemplified, in an humble and indigent condi- 
tion, the principles of philosophy which he had im- 
bibed, Superiour to any temptations which affluence 
or ambition could offer, he maintained, during the 
whole course of his life, an uncorrupt mind, an inva- 
riable regard to truth, and an irreproachable recti- 
tude of conduct If we contemplate him in his pub- 
lic character, we must admire the sublime philosophy, 
which enlightened and directed all his actions ; that 
genius, which was so rich in information and so fruit- 
ful in resources ; and those plans which were con- 
certed with supereminent prudence and executed 
with equal celerity. When he was at the head of 
the army, and was informed that his shield-bearer 
had sold a captive his liberty ; '' Give me back my 
buckler," said Epaminondas, " since your hands are 
soiled with money, you are no longer worthy to fol- 
low me in dangers.'^ Pelopidas, an affluent fellow- 
citizen, attached himself to Fpaminondas by the 
most intimate friendship, and when he could not 
prevail with this illustrious youth to partake of his 
fortune, he resolved to share in the poverty of 
his friend, and to form himself upon the model of 
his conduct. The concurrence of circumstances, 
mutual esteem, and an uniformity of sentiments and 



views, formed an indissoluble union between these 
two great men. But we have time to attend only to 
the closing scene of liis life. Never did Epaminon- 
das display greater abilities than in his last battle ; 
so that the enemy, dismayed at his appearance, be- 
took themselves to flight. But whilst he was pursu- 
ing them with great ardour, they suddenly rallied, 
and poured upon him a shower of darts. At length 
one of them pierced his breast with a javelin, the 
point of which was left in his body. When he was 
carried off the ground to his tent, and had recovered 
his speech,, his first question was, what was become 
of his shield ? when it it was brought him, he kissed 
it as the instrument of his labours and his glory. — 
He then enquired concerning the event of the battle ; 
and being informed that the I hebans were victori- 
ous, he said, " It is well ; I die unconquered. Ad- 
vise the Thebans to conclude a peace.'' The jave- 
lin being then extracted, he expired. On the plain 
where he fell, two monuments were raised to him — 
a trophy and a tomb. Epaminondas is represented 
by Cicero as one of the greatest men that any age or 
nation ever produced. 

Philop(Eman, the last great commander among the 
Greeks, was born at Megalopolis, in Arcadia. Hav- 
ing lost his father at an early age, he was carefully ed- 
ucated by Cassander, a noble Mantinean, and he re- 
ceived the instructions of two academic philoso- 
phers, who instilled into his mind high principles of 
honour and patriotism. The intervals of war he 
spent in hunting, and in the cultivation of his own 



8 



estate. It was when he was about the age of thirty^ 
Cleomenes, King of Sparta, surprised Megalopolis 
by niglit; Philopceman exerted himself with the ut-= 
most valour to drive him out again, and when he 
was unable to effect this, at the hazard of his life, he 
covered the retreat of the inhabitants to Messene — 
In his last battle, by falling from his horse, he was 
taken prisoner, and inhumanly thrust into a subter- 
ranean dungeon- His death was decreed, and an 
executioner was sent to his prison with a cup of poi- 
son. As soon as the hero beheld him, he raised 
himself with difficulty from the ground, and enquir- 
ed, whether Lycostasand his companions had escap- 
ed ; and being assured, that they were all safe, he 
replied, '^ then we are not entirely unfortunate,^^ and 
calmly drank the poison, which soon proved mortal. 
He died at the age of seventy. His fate, which he 
so little deserved, excited the grief and resentment 
of the whole Achsean league, of which he had been 
the ornament and support ; and numbers flocked to 
join a force, led by Lycortas, to revenge his death. 
Most of the cities of Greece erected his statue, with 
inscriptions recording his great actions. Several 
years after his death, when Corinth was destroyed 
by the Consul Mummius, a Roman moved for the 
subversion of all his statues and monuments, as those 
of an implacable enemy of Rome. Polybius, how- 
ever, in an eloquent harangue, defended his memo- 
ry, and the Consul would not permit such a posthu- 
mous insult to a truly great man. In tliis the Ro- 
mans discovered a less Gothic temper^ than the sycr 



oplmnts of the Ijourbon race, who were so ready to 
deface and demolish the proud monuments ofJVapo- 
leon. 

Who is unacquainted with the patriotic bravery 
of Leonidas ? Had the passes of the Pyrenees been 
defended by such Grecian energy as he commanded 
at the straits of Thermopylae, Spain would not now 
be groaning under a despotic tyrant, and the tor- 
tures of the holy inquisition. It w^as in hymns, like 
that of Aristotle, to his friend Hermias, that the he- 
roic deeds of the Greeks were celebrated. 

" virtue ! thou source of pure delight, 
Whose rugged mein can ne'er affright 

The man with courage fir'd ; 
For thee the sons of Greece have run 
To certain ills, which others shun, 

And gloriously expired. 

Whene'er thy sacred seeds take root, 
Immortal are the flovvVs and fruit; 

Unfading are the leaves ; 
Dearer than smiles of parent. kind. 
Than balmy sleep, or gold refin'd, 

The joys, thy triumph gives. 

For thee, the Twins of mighty Jove, 
For thee, divine Alcides strove 

From vice, the world to free ; 
For thee, Achilles quits the light 
And Ajax plunges into night, 

Eternal night, for thee. 

Hermias, the darling of mankind, 
Shall leave a deathless name behind, 

For the untimely slain ; 
As long as Jove's bright altars blaze, 
His worth shall famish grateful pvaife, 

To all the Muses^ train." 



10 

Greece may also boast of her far-famed Orators : 
Demosthenes, whose resistless eloquence, " wield- 
ed at will that fierce democracy :" and Isocrates — 
but who can name them all? Well might Horace 
say, 

Grails ingeniura, Gralis dedit ore rotundo 
Musa loqui. 

To the Greeks the Muse vouchsafed genius, and 
superiour eloquence. Numerous, too, were her Phi- 
losophers — Solon, Hippocrates, prince of physic- 
ians, Anaxagoras, Socrates, Plato, &c. Anaxago- 
ras first taught in Athens the existence of one eternal 
and Supreme Being ; or, as he is said to have e:^- 
pressed himself, "a perfect mind, independent of 
body," as the cause or Creator of all things ; and, 
by enabling his pupils to calculate eclipses of the 
sun and moon, proved these hitherto reputed divini- 
ties to be mere material substances. But bigotry 
existed among the Grecian people, and his doctrine 
was so directly repugnant to their whole religious 
notions, that he was accHsed of impiety, and obliged 
to withdraw from the Athenian territories. Now 
let us repair 

" To the low-roofd house of Socrates ; 

W^hom, well-inspir*d, the oracle pronounced 

Wisest of men ; from whose mouth issued forth 

Mellifluous streams that water'd all the schools 

Of Academies old and new.** Milan, 

Socrates, early impressed by the sublime princi- 
ples of theology taught by the exiled philosopher, 
yet, perceiving the inutility, or at least the unpop- 
ularity of such discussions respecting the nature of 



11 

llie Deity, applied himself rather to investigate the 
duty which man ouglit to render to such a Being, 
as Anaxagoras had described the great Creator. 
He seems to have settled it as a first principle, that 
if the providence of God interfered in the government 
of the world, the duty of man to man must form a 
distinguished branch of the divine will. He there- 
fore applied himself to examine and inculcate the 
social duties ; and, possessing a most discriminating 
and ready eloquence, he rendered his conversation 
(the only mode of teaching which he employed) at 
once amusing and instructive. While he maintain- 
ed the perfect wisdom and perfect goodness of the 
Supreme Being, and the constant superintendancc of 
his providence over the affairs of men, he continued 
to observe and to recommead the various acts of reli- 
gious worship which were practised in his native 
country. But all his caution and worth availed him 
not. Superstition tendered hemlock to him. Will- 
ingly would we cast the mantle of oblivion over such 
contemptible infatuation and advert with pleasure 
to Grecian deeds of glory. See Miltiades marshall- 
ing his army at Marathon ;--that field though death- 
ful, yet of deathless fame. The Persian army 
amounting to about one hundred thousand infantry, 
and ten thousand cavalry, accustomed to conquer, 
and having frequently engaged the Greeks of Asia 
and Cyprus, advanced with confidence as to certain 
victory. The amount of the Athenian force has been 
stated as low as nine thousand heavy-armed infantry, 
and one thousand Platseans, who h^d bravely hast- 



IS 

eued to sliare tlie desperate struggle for the frecdoni 
of their country. Various considerations, however, 
make it probable, that the regular Grecian troops, 
now opposed to the Persians, were not much less 
than twenty thousand, with about an equal number 
of armed slaves. With this army, still fearfully infe- 
rior to the invading host, the genius of Miltiades, 
who was well acquainted with the nature of the Per- 
sian troops, seconded by the determined bravery of 
his soldiers, breathing the spirit of freedom, which 
was paramount to a countless multitude, the tools of 
despotism, gained on the plain of Marathon, a most 
decisive victory, and drove the routed Persians to 
their ships with great slaughter. The joy excited 
among the Athenians by a victory, which not only 
tlelivered them from the dread of their enemies, but 
raised them to distinguished pre-eminence among 
their rivals and allies, is evident from a remarkable 
incident which happened immediately after th» bat- 
tle. As soon as fortune had visibly declared in their 
favour, a soldier was dispatched from the army, to 
convey the welcome news to the capital. He ran 
with incredible velocity, and appeared, covered with 
dust and blood, in the presence of the Senators : 
excess of fatigue conspired with the transports of 
enthusiasm, to exhaust tl e vigour of his frame ; he 
had only time to exclaim, ^* Bpjoice with the victor sP^ 
and immediately expired. Generous patriot soldier! 
thy name, long buried in oblivion, had richly merit- 
ed to be immortalized. 
Greece has furnished models of every excellence 



13 

po surrounding nations. Rome strove to form her- 
self upon the Grecian model in many instances ; but 
in many instances fell short of the great original. 
Probably there can he found no where in the Roman 
code of polity or jurisprudence, a parallel to Solon's 
institutes. These forcibly inculcate temperance, 
and censure the contrary as a principal source of 
misconduct. In Athens, the institutions regarding 
women, and the relations in which they are concerned, 
were much more liberal than those of Home. Solon 
considers man iage as an engagement of mutual affec- 
tion. He does not consider the wife as the Romans 
afterwards did, as only part of the family property. 
He regards her as tlie domestic companion of her 
husband. As a great source of criminal conduct is 
idleness, Solon enacted a law which obliged every 
citizen to exercise some trade or profession. It is 
not only the description of crime, and the annexation 
of punishment, that is of importance in penal cases, 
hut also the tribunal which is to take cognizance of 
the case. By Solon's laws, every Athenian citizen 
has a right to be tried by his peers ; the Atheniau 
law was in this, superiour to the Roman. Solon, 
like every wise lawgiver, endeavoured to extend the 
influence of religion over the minds of his country- 
men. 

In poetry and literature too, the TJomans were 
emulous of Grecian glory. Vos eocemjplaria GicBca, 
says Horace — 

Nocturna versate manu, versate diurna. 

Thus inciting the Roman scholars sedulously, by 
night and by day^, to con the Greek examples. 



1^ 

But, we must leave this pleasing theme, and re- 
luctantly turn our attention to the decadency and ex- 
tinction of this once glorious, independent nation. — 
The name of Greece has long been obscured by that 
of Turkey in Jiurope. Sad vicissitude in human 
affairs ! That the name, once most celebrated of any 
on the eastern continent, for every elegant refinement, 
should give |)lace to a name still closely allied to 
barbarism. It is about four hundred years since 
the Greeks received the I'urkish galling yoke of 
bondage : and, how different their treatment since 
that fatal eveut, from what their ancestors ex- 
perienced when subdued by the Roman arm». — 
Greece, tlien, soon acquired, by her arts of peace, a 
silent superiority over her conquerors. The victors 
became the disciples of the vanquished ; and the 
most distinguished Romans learned, in the Grecian 
schools of philosophy, to regard the country which 
they held in subjection, with the gratitude and res- 
pect due to a benefactor. These considerations con- 
tributed undoubtedly to secure to the inhabitants of 
Greece a milder exercise of authority, and more dis-' 
tinguished marks of favour, than were enjoyed by 
any other province under the yoke of Home. Not 
so the conduct of the Turks towards this singular 
people. Their vassalage under the Tartar raca 
lias been marked with cruelties of a character that 
transcends all description. When their ineffable 
sufferings were wrought up to a pitch which could 
no longer be borne, they, about three years since, 
nobly resolved to shake off the soul-debasing yoke 



15 

of the oppressor ; and (as well expressed in the Bos- 
ton address) '' They rose in the simple energy of 
oppressed, insulted, outraged man ; their great re- 
source, that they had nothing more to lose — their 
strong encouragement, that no extremity could sink 
them lower/' Since that memorable epoch, what 
horrible barbarities have awaited them. A recital 
of the atrocities of Scio, would make an American 
savage shudder. It was true, by their bravery, they 
have had a partial revenge. They have struggled 
like men who hold death infinitely preferable to ig- 
nominious slavery. When w^e hear of a victory 
achieved by these descendants of an illustrious race, 
we are ready to rank it with the victories obtained 
by the Grecians of old, and imagine their armies 
are led on by men inheriting the spirit of Miltiades, 
Aristides, or Fhocion ; and, if they succeed in a 
naval engagement, that their fleet may be ordered 
by another Themistocles, or Ciraon. Astonish- 
ing bravery lias been discovered in this ardu- 
ous strife for freedom. Without allies, and under 
every discouragement, some of their battles may 
claim affinity with that at Marathon — and their sea- 
fights, with the famous sea-fight at Salamis. 

It cannot, with propriety, be alleged, that the 
modern Greeks are a barbarous, ignorant people. — 
"It does not appear that an acquaintance with Greek, 
as a living tongue, has ever ceased among persons of 
education in that country.^' " At the very moment 
(says a late writer) when blood was flowing in the 
streets of Seio. beneath the Turkish sword, when 



If) 

its wives and daughters were sold by teas of tiiou- 
sands into a heart-rending slavery, and its sick and 
aged burning alive in the houses, the funds of the 
college, which flourished in this devoted island, were 
employed at Paris, in the publication of the choicest 
remains of ancient literature." The aged Dr. Coray, 
a learned Greek citizen, has lately published an 
edition of an ancient Greek classick, the preface to 
which is very interesting. As means of improving 
the state of his native land, and hastening its progress 
to independence, he justly recommends an attention 
to the business of education — and recommends the 
study of the ancient Greek. As more immedi- 
ate means of pursuing the present contest with suc- 
cess, he enforces the necessity of husbanding the re- 
sources of the country, consisting in taxes to be 
equally levied on all, and in the voluntary contribu- 
tions of the wealthy friends of Grecian liberty. He 
closes with an injunction to conduct the contest with 
humanity. Our warfare is with Turks, says he, but 
let us not contend like Turks. This work was pub- 
lished at the expense of the unfortunate Sciotes, and 
designed for the^jse of the schools in that country. It 
has been well remarked, that even the bare assur- 
ance of sympathy would have something like a 
cheering, inspiriting effect on those engaged in such 
perilous warfare ; but, we trust something more solid 
and substantial than sympathy will be wafted from 
the favoured shores of freedom, to the long depress- 
ed, now renovating Grecian States. Sympathy they 
will abundantly share — for what iron bosom can re- 



17 

fuse it? I had thought not to enter into any detail 
respecting the worse than savage treatment experi- 
enced by the Greeks ; but, how can the theme, tliough 
painful, be avoided? On this subject, I offer part 
of an address of twenty respectable Sciote merchants, 
made in behalf of their wretched brethren. After 
stating that the warfare now waged by the Turks, 
surpasses, in horrors of cruelty, whatever is record- 
ed of the ages of darkness, the address proceeds — 
Those who, no longer able to endure the intolerable 
yoke of tyranny, resolved to take up arms, with a de- 
termination, either to obtain, their lawful and just 
liberty, or end at once their miseries and their lives — 
have suffered indeed many and great evils. But, 
then, it has not been their unhappy lot to see their 

tomples profaned;, and th^-ir children and wives dis- 
honoured, to be themselves dragged into captivity, 
and to become the sport of the insolent rage of their 
rulers. These are horrors, which have been re- 
served for the submissive and unoffending ; for those 
who, trembling at their own defenceless situation, 
when exposed to the cruelty of the tyrant, determin- 
ed to bear in silence the weight of oppression ; for 
those who, not only took no part in the operation of 
the insurgents, but who, in order to give the strong- 
est proof of their allegiance and subordination, sur- 
rendered themselves into the hands of their masters, 
and as a confirmation of their submission, went vol- 
untarily to prison, where they were treated with eve- 
ry indignity and cruelty. Nay, they even deprived 
themselves of food, in order to maintain those very 
persons who were soon to become their executionerfci. 



18 

They consumed all their property to enrich their 
plunderers ; they stripped themselves to clothe their 
oppressors. It was upon these wretched victims 
(amongst whom the inhabitants of Cyprus and Scio 
were pre-eminent in misery) that those Turkish 
beasts, in human form, rushed, with the fury of ti- 
gers, attacking them with fire and sword, without dis- 
tinction of class, family, or age, guilt or innocence, 
slaughtering unmercifully and indiscriminately, from 
the magistrates of the people, the archbishops, and 
archons, to the lowest menial, so that the blood of 
the Christians flowed in torrents, dying the very 
soil of Scio. It was indeed a sight too horrible to 
be endured, when men beheld their wives led into 

captivity, their chaste daughters we can proceed 

no further. Out of moEa-.tbaii a humlria*! thousand 
inhabitants, thei^e now remain but twelve hundred 
on the island. The greater part of the men and of 
the aged women were destroyed. In other parts of 
the Turkish dominions, tlie Greeks were shot at like 
dogs, by the lawless Janissaries. Think of an amia- 
ble Grecian mother, an infant at her bosom, seized 
by a ruthless ruffian, for a slave. She knows, as- 
suredly, her husband is massacred. Alas ! the heart 
sickens at pursuing her destiny. Think of Euro- 
pean and American merchants, obliged to shut their 
doors on women, who, after wandering for two days 
without food, and in constant peril of their lives, 
came to implore a single night's shelter^rom pursuit, 

brutality and dsath. Think of no: we will 

think no further than to strive to prevent such horri- 
ble enormities. Surely we can /eel for the Greeks 



19 

without particularizing their sufferings, and wading 
through the blood of the victims of tyranny ^ or rather 
let me say, of Hell-born fury / Contemplating such 
barbarous deeds, even Englishmen exclaim, ^^ We 
will not endure that the land, to which we owe every 
thing, after religion, most valuable — science, art, 
poetry, philosophy — that that land, with all its rec- 
ollections, its images of beauty, its temples* worn 
by the footsteps of heroes, its sacred mountains and 
poetic streams, should be left desolate, a prey to the 
ferocity of barbarians." — We, of this State, may 
claim a sort of physical kindred with the Grecian 
States; — the name of ours being derivable from the 
island Rhodes, of the iEgean sea. Here, too, in 
this very town of Providence—^ai^enfe Providentia — 
at early dawn of settlement, the first effectual 
stand was ma<le for civil and religious freedom, 
by the illustrious Williams. We, then, have 
peculiar reason to sympathize with Grecians. — 
The inhabitants^ of this happy State need no 
incentives to espouse their cause. It would be an 
impeachment of their invincible love of liberty, and 
of their generous sympathy for the oppressed, to 
surmise a moment they could need persuasory mo- 
tives on such an occasion. We most earnestly hope 
that every contest for liberty, throughout the globe, 
may prove triumphant ! — That many headed hydra> 
ycleped the Holy Alliance, may still strive to hold 
the world in vassalage ; but all in vain. The die 
is cast ; and though some intervening clouds awhile 

* A British Lord [Elgin] has removed some of the ornaments of those 
'^S^mples,^. Mbavburtisfuit?' 



so 

may hide its splendour, yet universal freedom must 
prevail. " Great and glorious is the part (observes 
a late writer) w^hich this country is to act, in the 
political regeneration of the world. Wheresoever 
the chosen race, the sons of liberty, shall worship 
freedom, they will turn their faces to us." 

An extract or two from the translation of the pro- 
clamation of the Senate of Calamata, signed by its 
President, may not be uninteresting. This State 
paper has been published in this country, in Greek, 
and begins, ''Andres tes Americhanes Sumpoliteias / 
Men of the American connected Polities ! or. Citi- 
zens of the United States of America :■ — Having 
formed the resolution to live or die for freedom, we 
are drawn toward you by a just sympathy ; since 
it is in your land that Liberty has fixed her abode, 
and by you that she is prized, as by our fathers. 
Hence, in invoking her name, we invoke yours at 
the same time, trusting that in imitating you, wq 
shall imitate our ancestors, and be thought worthy 
of them, if we succeed in resembling you. We es- 
teem you nearer than the nations on our frontiers ; 
and we possess, in you, friends, fellow-citizens and 
brethren, because you are just, humane and gener- 
ous ; just, because free ; generous and liberal, be- 
cause Christians. Your liberty is not propped on 
the slavery of other nations, nor your prosperity on 
their calamities and sufTerings. But, on the con- 
trary, free and prosperous yourselves, you are de- 
sirous that all men should share the same blessings ; 
that all should enjoy those rights, to which all are 
by nature equally entitled. It is you^ who first pra 



21 

claimed these rights ; it is you, who have been the 
first again to recosnize them, in rendering the rank 
of men to the Africans degraded to the level of 
brutes. It is by your example, that Europe has 
abolished the shameful and cruel trade in human 
flesh ; from you that she receives lessons of justice, 
and learns (o renounce her absurd and sanguinary 
customs. This glory, Americans, is yours alone, 
and raises you above all the nations which have 
gained a name for liberty and laws. 

'' It is for you, citizens of America, to crown this 
glory, in aiding us to purge Greece from the barba- 
rians, who for four hundred years have polluted the 
soil. It is surely worthy of you, to banish igno- 
rance and barbarism from the country of freedom 
and the arts. The fellow-citizens of Penn, of Wash- 
ington, and of Franklin, will not refuse their aid to 
the descendants of Phocion, and Thrasybulus, of 
Aratus, and of Philopcemen.'' 

It seems difficult to q^uit the subject. There is a 
sort of magic in the name of Greece, Often in fan- 
cy, have I roamed about the classick fields and 
groves of that felicitous region, transported by a 
thousand agreeable associations. 'Tis true, Par- 
nassus' dizzy height I dared not climb. It fitted 
better to haunt Boeotian shades, and listen to the 
wood notes sweet of Hesiod, when he sung the ru- 
ral cares of Grecian husbandmen. Or, to ramble 
with Theophrastus, and gather interesting plants 
upon the Lesbian hills, or the delightful slopes of 
Mount Hymettus, or wliere 

" Ilissus rolls his whispVmg streams." 



Sometimes my footsteps uQcoiisciously would tend 
towards the mountain of the Areopagus, where the 
me bribers were assembled together, with no other 
roof but the canopy of heaven. *^ A sparrow pursued 
by a hawk, once fled into the midst of them for re- 
fuge ; it took shelter in the bosom of one of them, a 
man, naturally of a harsh and repulsive disposition, 
who taking hold of the little trembler, threw it from 
him with such violence, that it was killed on the 
spot. The whole assembly were filled with indigna- 
tion at the cruelty of the deed : the author of it was 
instantly arraigned as an alien to that sentiment of 
mercy so necessary to the administration of justice, 
and by the unanimous suffrages of his colleagues, 
was degraded from the senatorial dignity which be 
had so much disgraced. Here was a decision in 
favour of humanity, in an early age of Greece. O 
Greece ! thou wert indeed glorious in numerous re- 
spects. Thou wert the cradle of all that is elegant 
in art ;— of all that is fascinating in poiesy and liter- 
ature ;— of all that is excellent in legislation and 
political science, or splendid in martial achieve- 
ments ; — of all, in a word, that can add interest and 
true nobility to the human character* Thy mighty 
genius has slumbered for many ages ; but, is now 
awaking from a long night of melancholy stupor, 
and shedding gleams of glory round thee, emulative 
of that which adorned thee in the zenith of thy for- 
mer splendour. We, though far remote, and sepa- 
rated from thee by the multitudinous waves of ocean 
and the midland sea, yet cannot look with frigid 
indiffevency upon thy virtuous stnig2;les for all that 



mankind hold most dear. There are still some re- 
maining amongst us, who have participated in like 
conflicts, for the ennohling prize of Liberty ! 

Ancient nursery of freedom — Greece ! — farewell : 
but we bid thee not— farewell^ without an effort to 
assist thee. 



[The following Odes were performed. The first was al- 
tered for the occasion, and sung by Mr. Wade— and the 
on€ selected was sung by the Choir ; both accompanied by 
the Band of the Light Infantry Company.] 

Tune — ' Scots wha hae wV Wallace hkcV 
GREEKS who have for freedom bled, 
Greeks whom heroes oft have led, 
Patriot blood shall ne'er be shed 
In vain for Liberty. 

Now's the day and now's the Hour, 
While your proud oppressors cower, 
Spurn the turban'd Tyrant's power. 
Chains and Slavery. 

Descended from the great and brave. 
Can the Grecian live a slave? 
Will no arm his country save 

From base tyranny. 

As, for liberty and right, 
WASHINGTON upheld our fight, 
So, some Grecian Patriot's might 
Shall ka4 to Victory. 

By Oppression's woes and pains, 
By your sons in servile chains, 
By your desolated fanes. 

Swear you will be free ! 

Lay the ruthless Moslem low, 
Tyrants fall in every foe, 
Liberty's in every blow, 

FREEMEN LIVE, or DIE! 



24* 

BY MRS. C. M. THAYER, 

Adapted to the Song of Miriam. 

Sound the loud trump o'er the -^gean sea, 

The Moslem has fallen, and Greece shall be freel 

Rous'd be the spirit that gallantly shone, 

When the Persian's proud host was in battle o'erthrowTH, 

Wake the bold harp that for ages has slumber'd, 

The deeds of her heroes with ecstacy tell; 
In Glory's bright archieves her sons shall be number'd, 

Immortal as those who at Marathon fell. 
Sound the loud trump o'er the jEgean sea. 
The Moslem has fallen, and Greece shall be free ! 



Loud let the chorus of triumph ascend, 
Wide may the empire of Freedom extend! 

Greece^ whtrP "tJ^O <lVl'V'^ -vr*-^ ^nayis-flrk- K£»,Tto-fl-oili>»&n.'<i. 

Once the proud home of the free and the brave, 
Where Science was cradled, and Liberty nourish'd. 

Greece shall exult over Tyranny's grave. 
Sound the loud trump o'er the ^gean sea, 
The Moslem has fallen, and Greece shall be free I 



Praise to JEHOVAH, our Saviour and Lord, 

Our zeal is His Spirit, our light is His WORD, 

HE, the strong fetters of Slavery has broken, 

His banner of Light to the nations unfurl'd; 
The mandate of Mercy Jehovah has spoken. 

And Freedom and Peace shall illumine the world. 
Sound the loud trump o'er the ^gean sea, 
The Moslem has fallen, aijd GREECE SHALL BE FREE I 



